Boasting a new cool roof covering over 25,000 square feet, the U.S. Department of Energy expects to save taxpayers $2,000 per year in reduced energy costs.

This comes after a July announcement by Energy Secretary Steven Chu in which the DOE announced the new program, dubbed the DOE's Cool Roof initiative. He directed his department to install roofs that reduce energy costs when replacing old roofs or when cost effective.

The expected energy savings from the new roof are a result of the roof being constructed from white or light-colored materials that carry special coatings to reflect heat and absorb a lower amount of solar energy. Traditional roofs are dark in color, resulting in higher cooling costs during hot months.

Along with the new roof on the DOE's West Building, construction is also expected to begin on a similar roof for the South Building next spring. Together, the two cool roofs should save taxpayers over $8,000 a year in energy costs.

Gee I wonder where they got this idea, maybe from flying over some homes in south Florida. There roofs are covered with white, or light colored gray shingles just for this reason. Now here in the cold, little sun Metro Atlanta area, all of the new home builders opted out for black roofs. Just like Henry Ford, you could have any color you wanted, as long as it was black. Yes the builders decided that a black roof was more efficient in keeping your house cool in the Summer. What a bunch of jackasses.

How about they get rid of the air conditioners and use ceiling fans that would save us, the taxpayer some money. Or, better yet, get rid of half the people that work there - that would save us some REAL money!

I liked Tigerpaw's last paragraph "What would you bet the roof will wear out & need replaced again before the money spent is even half recouped by the lower energy cost? Probably why they left that info out of the news release."

How many years will it take for that $2k savings to pay for the higher cost of this new roof, even if the existing roof was in need of replacement? Also, would that maybe raise the heating cost in the winter? Maybe they should consider light color reflective roofs for southern states and south facing slopes of roofs and use dark roofs for northern states and north facing slopes. Would they have saved the same $2k in a year if they had just installed much cheaper attic ventilation? Maybe we should just assume the Government always makes the right & best decisions & not question their actions? NOT HARDLY!!

What would you bet the roof will wear out & need replaced again before the money spent is even half recouped by the lower energy cost? Probably why they left that info out of the news release.